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Tom Cowan feat. Analog Girl - Fallen Soul (pg. 2)
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| Tom_cowan |
| quote: | Originally posted by Effero
When I'm listening to pro-productions the first thing I hear(and probably most of the listeners) is the clarity. Mixes that have dimension, depth and clarity and where each element occupies its own space automatically score higher, even though musically they might be inferior to others.
Your mix is quite original, and all that I previously said applies, but it does need more clarity. I want to hear clearly the words you're singing/saying and at the same time it has to have a deeper meaning than just a good drive and a sidechained bass.
The midrange in your mix is overrepresented so that takes away from clarity. There is probably a lot of small things and details I would do to make the mix more balanced but can't really say exactly what, until I had separate tracks and started doing it myself.
Also, the problem with producers is that they try to do everything themselves nowdays, playing, singing, recording, arranging, mixing, and mastering. People that could be succesfull in all of these areas at the same time are the ones who succeed as single producers/dj's. And that's rare.
So, if you have somebody not only to give you a second set of ears but to help colaborate in the production process, that would be a solution in terms of your mixes coming more alive, transparent and dynamic. When you have a product that people are really enjoying (people not afraid to give you a relatively objective opinion), then you can think of next steps.
In short, never stop trying, and work hard until you achive it. After you achive it, work harder...
Effero |
Thanks for the incite effero! It's really appreciated! I know what you mean about the lack of clarity in the mix. I'm consering taking it to a studio to sit with an engineer and get it sorted. I'd love to be able to that if nothing else but to see what they do to get it more clear. Would you suggest doing some hard equalisation on the individual tracks to break them up? Like pulling everything out the bass range apart from the bass? The synths away from high end drums? As for the vocals, it's a real headfook. I want them distorted because I think that suits the track but then getting them to sit in the mix is really hard. Any tips? Thanks again!:toothless |
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| Effero |
Well, if you're going to sit in with an engineer, that's awesome.
When thinking of a mix think of 3D.
Frequency is height.
Delay is depth.
Panning is left to right.
Reverb is dimension. (How big you want things to be)
There is no formulas. Personally, I like to get all the faders up and listen to the mix first.
Then, I mute everything except for the foundation (drums, bass). Play with volumes of individual foundation tracks to get the right balance. Ratio of kick and bass is the most important aspect of pop productions.
Start adding elements starting with the foundation and then central theme of your mix, in this case vocals. That has to sit right with the foundation and give you goosebumps.
Only then start adding the rest of elements. Eq and compress individual elements as you go, but only if needed. Do not add any unecessaary eq or compression. If it sounds good, it's good. Also, do not eq or compress elements individualy, only when they're playing together. You can mute and umnute tracks, but don't make radical moves on solo tracks.
After all this is done, each element is supposed to have it's own space. Don't let anything clash.
Add effects as just make-up, not to change things radically but to make them more beautiful and pronounced.
Not everything is supposed to be in your face. Some elements belong in the back of the mix.
Too much bottom or midrange makes things muddy, cut some if necessary. Cutting frequencies is preffered to boosting.
There you go...just a few suggestions for your mixdown session.
Hope everything goes smooth.
Effero |
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| Tom_cowan |
| Cheers! I'll have a go! I think i need to really pull the thing to pieces and work it from the ground up. It seems silly but I've just got a frequency scope and have been working out what's where in the mix. I'll go to an engineer but I want to really try n get it as best i can first. I've already realised the kick is at tottally the wrong frequency and getting in the way of the bass as well as not booming the way it should. As for compression, I think it needs some on the drums but no where else in particular, the dynamic range is already squashed to hell with distortion so I don't think it would work well. If I can push the bass low enough n the highs high enough it should make enough room to fit everying else in. I've got some ideas so thanks a lot n i'll get back with a better mix hopefully! Cheers! Oh yeah, when you say delay, what do you mean? As in the delay effect? Thanks. |
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| Effero |
Yes, when I say delay, I mean delay effect:)
Regards
Effero |
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| Dj Minaya |
Awesome track..when you've got a full version please let us know..really a nice blend of rock n roll and electronica you've got going on its great :)
Would love to use this at a club :D |
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| Tom_cowan |
Cheers Minaya,
I'm currently struggling witht the final version at the moment! I'll get it done, it just ain't gonna be fun doing it.
Oh yeah,
I got this response from superstar records,
"hi tom,
thanks for sending the link. pretty cool stuff, but not what i really need for superstar.
looking forward to receive more music in future."
Do you reckon that's a bullsht response they give to everyone or do you think it means the tracks crap or do you think it means the genre of music is wrong?
Fuk knows!:toothless |
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| Effero |
Can't assume the real reason behind it, but that's a pretty standard response.
Effero |
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| Trancevision |
Hi Tom,
great stuff you got there. Excellent production.
Sounds like a new TOMCRAFT release, lol.
@Effero
Thanks for your hints, may I send you a link when I post my next track here on TA? I wonder if you could give me some advice ,too
:D |
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| Effero |
| quote: | @Effero
Thanks for your hints, may I send you a link when I post my next track here on TA? I wonder if you could give me some advice ,too
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Definitely...
Effero |
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| dj_kane |
nice track mate. really like this.
good chilled vibe and relaxing
love that kick and bass, good sounds and efx work well. dont no about the male vocal but like the female voice works better than the male.
nice work.
enjoyed this. would love a version for a mp3 if you have one. |
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| Fundamental |
Ok, firstly this is great, but lose the ing Willy Wonka sample. :stongue:
There's a lot of elements in this track that are great, but also there's a fair amount that don't seem to sit so well (for me at least).
The long version of the guitar riff works really well, but the end-of-the-bar 4 note one doesn't sound too great in comparison. Also that instrument that comes in at 4:18 is a good idea, but it sounds a bit dry and sticky-outy. Hmmm, there seemed to be more to complain about the first time I heard this. Oh well... :p
Excellent work on the vocals! And the acidy sounds at the end were great too! I'd love to get my hands on the vocals and try and do a remix of this. Please! :D
But yeah, excellent work. A real grower. Thanks for sharing! |
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| Tom_cowan |
Cheers for your thoughts fundamental, appreciated!
As for things not sitting well, I'm working on that. I've just got a descent parametric eq and it's making nailing down the different sounds to there respective frequency ranges a lot easier.
It's the vocals that I can see troubling me though, it's hard because as they are distroted they're not clean by design and therefore do not sit very tightly in the mix. I'm sure I'll sort it though.
As a break I knocked together this hard house tune :haha:. It's so easy to do! THIS took me an hour to put together, it's not something I'm gonna finish I don't think but it's a good way to de-stress.:toothless |
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